


Scars

by Eileniessa



Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types, Wiedźmin | The Witcher Series - Andrzej Sapkowski
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Hiding an injury, Mentions of Attempted Suicide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-08-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:27:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26111110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eileniessa/pseuds/Eileniessa
Summary: Yennefer bathes after her transformation and thinks about how she will reclaim her place in King Virfuril's court
Series: Bad Things Happen Bingo [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1894447
Kudos: 1





	Scars

**Author's Note:**

> Re-uploaded from ‘Bloody Entertainment’.
> 
> Disclaimer: This is a work of fan fiction using characters from the books by Andrzej Sapkowski, the game series by CD Projekt Red and the TV series by Netflix. I do not claim ownership to any of these characters and have written this fan fiction for entertainment, not financial gain.
> 
> Warnings: Spoilers for ‘The Witcher’ Netflix show, series 1, episode 3.
> 
> CAUTION. Viewer Discretion Advised: This chapter contains mentions of attempted suicide.

Deep inside the bowels of Aretuza, a woman bathed in the blood of a hunchback. She had been the hunchback, but now she was a sorceress, and she was perfect. Except for her scars.

Yennefer stared at the bloodied water and saw her indistinct reflection look back. She waved her hand and spoke an incantation that made the bathwater clear, and then she looked again. Still, Yennefer hardly recognized herself; only her violet irises had remained the same. Everything else had been imperfect and had needed to be fixed because the prestige of her profession demanded it. The potential of a sorceress was not measured by the knowledge and wisdom that she held, that was the measure of sorcerers and men, but by the charm of her appearance and the sway of her words. That was the strength of women, and so it was her strength too, because, for all the expertise that she had, she was a woman, nonetheless.

Yennefer cleaned her body for a second time, scrubbing every inch of her skin until it was raw. Her bath did not become as dirty as before, but Yennefer was not satisfied. She cleansed the water again and considered heating the bath because cold was making her newly transformed muscles and bones ache, but she decided against it. That incantation always made her feel nauseated. Yennefer scrubbed herself again and when the water stayed clear she decided that she had wasted enough time and got out.

She dried herself with a towel and soothed her sore skin with a scentless cream that was magically imbued to strengthen its healing properties. When Yennefer had finished tending to her hair, having dried it carefully with magic, the red tint had faded from her skin, and her aches and pains had dulled to a faint reminder. Yennefer inspected herself carefully and, convinced that there was no evidence of her transformation left on her body, walked into the adjacent chamber.

The room was well lit, and its circular walls were covered with tall mirrors. There was a vanity on the far side and Yennefer sat herself down before it. Its polished wooden surface was covered in uniformly organized vials, bottle and jars that were labelled with thin, slanting handwriting that she had to squint at to read. She selected a few cosmetics and set to work decorating her face. When she had pencilled her eyebrows, curled her lashes, and painted her lips and her lids, Yennefer took her dress off the limbless bust beside the vanity and put it on. Then, she walked into the middle of the room and cast her eyes across its mirrors. Yennefer saw herself and smiled. She was beautiful. More importantly, she was ready.

Yennefer knew that the ball must have begun, but that worked in her favour. Being on time would not have allowed for the type of entrance that she had in mind. Besides, she did not need the whole night to get what she wanted, what she was owed, only a minute, or a dance. She had trusted Tissaia to get her Aedirn, and the Rectoress had failed her. Yennefer would not fail herself. She would take her place in king Virfuril's court without Tissaia's help; she didn't need it, and she didn't want it.

While Yennefer waited for the ball to progress, she walked around the dressing room and tried out her new body. She had forgotten the last time that she had felt comfortable in her skin. The last time that her body had felt a part of her, and not a cage. It had taken a long time, and it had been painful, but Yennefer finally had the body to match how she felt. Except for the scars.

Her eyes were drawn to them whenever she looked in the mirror. Two straight lines across both wrists. When Yennefer stopped gliding around the room, practising her steps, and fixed her eyes on them her chest tightened, and she pinched her lips together. She would never forgive herself for having been that weak. Tissaia had saved her from her mistake, and Yennefer had taken herself the rest of the way. The Rectoress had never made the journey easy, but she had persevered, and there was nothing left of the hunchback she was before.

Except for the scars. When Yennefer looked at herself, she saw the most powerful mage in the northern kingdoms, but then she saw her scars. They didn't match the figure that she wanted to cut. Yennefer clasped her hands together, covering her slit wrists with her fingers and chanted a spell. Then she took her hands away and rubbed her fingers up and down her skin from her palm to the centre of her forearm. The illusion did not tear. It covered her scars completely.

Yennefer danced around the room a few more times before deciding that it was time to make her entrance. She checked herself out in the mirror and her eyes did not drift as they had before. Everything was as it should be, and the hunchback was truly gone.

**Author's Note:**

> Bad-Things-Happen-Bingo Prompt for Anonymous on Tumblr: Hiding an injury for Yennefer, The Witcher Netflix
> 
> If you have enjoyed this piece of work, please consider leaving a comment. It is always wonderful to hear from readers.


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